1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component, and more particularly, relates to an electronic component containing a coil.
2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-260925 (the '925 application) describes a known multilayer chip inductor. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a multilayer chip inductor 500 described in the '925 application.
The multilayer chip inductor 500 has a laminate 502, external electrodes 504a and 504b, via hole conductors 506a and 506b, and a coil L as shown in FIG. 9. The laminate 502 is obtained by laminating insulator layers and contains the coil L. The coil L is a spiral coil having a coil axis extending in the lamination direction (vertical direction of FIG. 9). The external electrodes 504a and 504b are provided on the bottom surface of the laminate 502. The via hole conductors 506a and 506b each are provided in such a manner as to extend in the lamination direction while being exposed to the side surfaces of the laminate 502, and connect the ends of the coil L and the external electrodes 504a and 504b. 
Here, the via hole conductors 506a and 506b will be described in detail. The via hole conductors 506a and 506b form a semi-circular shape when viewed in plan view in the lamination direction. This is because the via hole conductors 506a and 506b are formed by dividing a substantially cylindrical via hole conductor extending in the lamination direction into two parts. More specifically, when a mother laminate is cut into separate laminates 502, a via hole conductor formed extending over two laminates 502 is divided into two via hole conductors.
In the multilayer chip inductor 500, the diameter of the coil L can be enlarged, and thus a high inductance value can be achieved. In more detail, the via hole conductors 506a and 506b are provided in such a manner as to be exposed to the side surfaces of the laminate 502. Thus, in the multilayer chip inductor 500, an area where the coil L can be formed becomes large compared with the case where the via hole conductors 506a and 506b are formed in the laminate 502. Thus, in the multilayer chip inductor 500, the diameter of the coil L can be enlarged, and thus a high inductance value can be obtained.
However, the multilayer chip inductor 500 has a problem in that the resistance value between the external electrodes 504a and 504b varies as described later. In more detail, the coil L is connected to the external electrodes 504a and 504b through the via hole conductors 506a and 506b, respectively. The via hole conductors 506a and 506b are formed by dividing a substantially cylindrical via hole conductor into two parts as described above. Thus, the shape of the via hole conductors 506a and 506b varies due to variation in the cut position when the mother laminate is cut. As a result, the resistance value of the via hole conductors 506a and 506b varies, and thus the resistance value between the external electrode 504a and 504b also varies.